About Liatris compacta (Torr. & A.Gray) Rydb.
Liatris compacta (Torr. & A.Gray) Rydb. grows from rounded corms, which produce hairless stems that reach 22 to 50 centimeters (8.8 to 20.0 inches) in height. Its flowers are grouped into heads, with 18 to 25 flowers in each head. These heads grow either singly or in clusters of 2 to 5 heads. Large, leaf-like bracts sit beneath each head, and the stalks that attach the heads to the main stem measure 3 to 25 millimeters (0.12 to 1.00 inch) long. The heads are arranged in loose collections that take on a spike-like or raceme-like shape. The basal leaves (growing at the base of the plant) and early cauline leaves (growing along the stem) have 3 to 5 nerves and an elliptic-lanceolate shape. Basal foliage often withers before the plant flowers. All foliage is hairless and may have faint glandular dots. Leaves gradually reduce in size as they grow upward toward the top of the stems. Seeds develop inside cypselae fruits that are 5.5 to 8 millimeters long, and these fruits have feathery bristles.
